1. I’ve got this great idea for a post!

Hey, I’ve got some interesting information I’d like to post. There’s this thing happening right now on the web and I can record it with some screen-capture software. Then I’ll make a meme out of it and post it on the web. It’ll be great! Everyone will share it and I’ll have contributed to the gentrification of The Internet.

2. Gotta get that screen-recording software running

So, I’ll need to install some software to make this thing. What was the name of that software I used years and years ago? Camtasia? Is that it? Ahh, yeah. It worked great back then. Let’s install it.

3. Hmm, could something be wrong with this installation? Nahhh.

Hmm, last time I was installing this I don’t remember the software asking me over and over again if I “AGREE” to installing this stuff. Doesn’t it just have to ask me “once” if I agree?

Oh well. I’ve used this stuff before and it worked great, so let’s keep moving.

Intermission

4. I’ve made a terrible mistake

…Why is my computer now flooding with biki babes and product suggestions? Shouldn’t it be recording?

It couldn’t be that I…a comfortable computer user…who even knows a little bit of Javascript and CSS…it couldn’t be that anyone such as me…so smart as I am…could…dang…

5. Sttaahhhhhp! Please!

5. The only solution

And we’ll purge this part of my hard drive…and this part…and this part…. Minor detour. Should only take…oh…all night or so to fix.

Hours and hours later…

6. Good to go again…

There we go. I just had to run eighteen full-system scans, download three types of malware removal, and spend $60 on software. There’s only a few programs that are permanently uninstallable, due to problems with the computer registry, and I can still access most of my documents folder. That’ll do. So, let’s write that blog post…

7. Meanwhile…deep within the belly of my computer…

…I won’t be up all night thinking about what might still be lurking in the belly of my desktop beast…really, I won’t…

Abstract emotional shapes from my UVU Concept Art Class.

All in all, this is a really fun activity.

This assignment I thought up as an opportunity to use shapes—in their purest sense—to create emotion and stories. Shapes are the building blocks of all solid design, so by cutting out the narrative element of shapes—that is, not worrying about making the shapes resemble anything we might recognize—it’s easier to focus on just making stuff that’s neat, no matter the context.

We started with a list of a dozens of different human emotions—such as pain, fear, melancholy, etc.—and then together we came up with shapes that we felt described those emotions.

We all brought these emotional shapes to class to show to each other, and everyone made guesses as to which emotion each shape was supposed to evoke. If everyone guessed the correct emotion, then the creator of the shape knew s/he was on the right track.

Here are a few from my attempts from the first pass at this exercise.

Can you guess the emotions? Let me know what you think in the comments.

When I was fifteen my friends and I randomly heard about this animated film from a great Japanese director. The film was playing only in “select theaters,” which meant we would have to leave our small town and travel to the big city.

(…a.k.a. Salt Lake City—it was huge in our heads, okay? 😉

For restless teenagers, going to see this film was more a reason to get out from under the authority of our parents than anything.

We arrived at the theater long after dark, finding our seats not long before the movie screen filled with a painted background of a misty forest and a deep voice began,

“In ancient times,

the land lay covered in forests,

where, from ages long past,

dwelt the spirits of the gods.

Back then, man and beast lived in harmony,

but as time went by, most of the great forests were destroyed.

Those that remained were guarded by gigantic beasts…

who owed their allegiance to the Great Forest Spirit,

…for those were the days of gods and demons.”

I don’t know at what point during the film I felt my life changing forever. All I know is that from the moment the film ended, I was forever obsessed with visual storytelling. (To be fair, there were three other pieces of art I saw that moved me into becoming a visual storyteller for a living, but, as far as I can remember, Hayao Miyazaki was the first one with whom I became obsessed.)

Fast forward seventeen years and I have great things in the works for next fall…(hint hint).

Miyazaki has been a constant source of inspiration throughout my life, and when the panel schedulers for Salt Lake Comic Con asked me about which panels I wanted to attend as a speaker, Miyazaki’s was one of the first I chose.

It was SUCH an honor to sit in that room speaking with other fans. The room was packed to the last row. There were a few attendees even dressed as Miyazaki characters.

Anyone could see that there were many people in the audience who knew at least as much as I do about Miyazaki films (and that is seriously saying something). And throughout the event I simply felt lucky and bewildered to be the one with the microphone, sharing my experiences, and hoping that what I was saying was somehow worth their time!

There are many rumors that when Steven Spielberg saw this film at its release at Cannes Film Festival way back in the 80’s, Spielberg called it, “…one of the greatest adventure films of all time.” And, apparently, he also said that the car chase scene (after the intro credits) is one of the best of its kind.

Give it 20 minutes or so, as the style is very, very old.

Farmer’s Market

Still drawin’ away at the Provo Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. I’m getting the hang of things, and also continually finding new ways to improve. The price is $10 per face (quite affordable, considering what you’ll pay elsewhere). Do come and take a seat!

If you are interested and don’t want to come all the way to the market only to find that the line is too long, come in the morning. People usually don’t want to commit to anything until awhile after the market starts (the market opens at 10, but I’m usually free until 11). So, I often end up just sketching in my sketchbook for the first hour or so, and then all of a sudden I have a line that lasts for up to an hour and a half after the market is over. Come early, and you’ll be sure to get a seat.

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About this Blog

I'm a teacher, storyteller, husband, and father. My last name sounds just like "Zeus", but with a "B". This site is a place to share my (ultra messy) life with you--a journal of the journey so to say. The blog focuses around a few things, but storytelling is huge, and one day I hope to release a heroic epic tale.

Short Stories Progress

Current Rough Draft

22% Complete

650 of 3,000 words

Progress on my current rough draft. No publisher yet.

Short Stories Finished

Ready to submit to publishers

0% Complete

of 30,000 words

(Word count is just a guess!)

Short Story Touchdowns

Picked up by a publisher etc.

0% Complete

of 9,000 words

Three accepted submissions! (Word count is just a guess.)

Novella Progress

My next full-length novella

0% Complete

of 30,000 words

Like WESTLY, but new!

Epic Story

Stage 1 of 5 - Rough Layout/World Building

0% Complete

of 1,000,000 words

An epic and massive adventure. This one could take decades to finish! (Word count is just a wild guess for now.)

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